The Power of Goodbye
by Love4eternity1016
Summary: The summer before their Seventh year at Hogwarts has just begun, and to their surprise, it had an unexpected twist involving Death Eaters, a rare illness, and a quest to save someone close to them, will they be able to?   Ron/Hermione and Mild Harry/Ginny
1. Chapter 1

The Power of Goodbye

_A Ron /Hermione & Harry /Ginny Love Story_

**Hey everyone! So this is my first fanfic, and along with Csi Miami, I am a huge Harry Potter fan! Since I'm a little bummed that the first part of the seventh movie still seems so far away, I've decided to create a story. The Setting is going to be in-between books six and seven, and just a week-or-so after Dumbledore died. I was a little upset with how abruptly Harry seemed to get over Dumbledore's death, so I decided to drag it out a little, just because I thought Dumbledore was such a great character. Also, the romance is going to be more of Ron and Hermione, with some mild Harry and Ginny. Alright, so enough of my rambling, enjoy the first chapter! Reviews are greatly appreciated =) **

**Chapter 1**

_**A Rocky Start**_

The clear blue sky turned menacing as a swarm of dark gray clouds overtook the perfect day. As the clouds swirled, lightning flashed brightly overhead, while a low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. Rain began to pelt Harry's face as the wind billowed his wild black hair everywhere.

Harry looked up at the sky, as though he was being hypnotized, as he simultaneously put his hand to his lightning-bolt-shaped scar. It had begun to throb painfully, and throughout his years of experience, he took that as a bad sign.

After Dumbledore's death this year he had begun to keep himself highly alert, to his surroundings, and things such as the throbbing of his scar.

He was still overly depressed about Dumbledore's death, as was the rest of the school, but as much as it pained him to say, he knew the time for mourning was coming to a close. It was time to do the job Dumbledore had given him. It was time to plan for the upcoming year. Time was fast approaching to find and destroy the six remaining Horcruxes, and to ensure that this time, when it came down to the final battle, Lord Voldemort could not evade death through them. The Horcruxes must be destroyed, and along with Ron and Hermione, they would finish the job no matter what.

Completely lost in thought, Harry barely noticed Hermione jerk his shoulder slightly to the right. He looked at her through clouded eyes, attempting to focus back on reality.

"Harry? Harry? Are you alright?" Hermione asked, a concerned expression on her face.

Harry had always admired how close he, Hermione, and Ron were, and how they always knew when something was troubling him. However, at that moment it annoyed him slightly due to the emotional roller coaster he was currently riding.

"Yeah, you alright mate? You seem like your somewhere else right now." Ron said, stopping mid-stride, as Harry and Hermione both slowed to a stand-still, about a yard from the Hogwarts Express platform.

They were currently on their way home for the summer, walking down the Hogwarts grounds toward the train. Although Harry usually goes home to the Dursleys the first day of summer, this year due to the circumstances, all students were let out two weeks early, with all exams canceled.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry lied after a long and uncomfortable silence.

Trying the lighten the mood, Ron spoke up sheepishly, "Thank god we didn't have finals, I didn't study at all," Ron said grinning, as Hermione rolled her eyes, "Especially for Snape's class!" He finished.

Ron, realizing what he had said, was about to apologize but was cut short as Harry gazed upon him hatefully.

"Well Ron, maybe next year Lord Voldemort will kill me, so then you don't have to worry about finals," Harry spat menacingly at Ron, "And don't ever..EVER say his name in front of me again." Harry added, a little too harshly at Ron.

Hermione stood awe-struck as the two moved so that they were only inches from each others' faces.

"You know, Dumbledore was our friend too. His death didn't hurt just you, Harry we all are upset over it." Ron retorted, his voice gradually rising.

Harry stood full height, but still was at least a half of a foot smaller than Ron and practically yelled, "Not as much as it hurt me! You have no idea!" Harry finished, and shoved Ron. Several students had stopped everywhere to watch the fight, including Luna, Ginny, and Neville, all of whom were standing in front of them, and had heard the whole thing.

Ron shoved Harry back, and before Harry could do any more damage, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville stepped between the two and restrained them both. Harry and Ron continued to glare at each other, and Ron, who was the closest to the platform, turned and stormed off onto the train.

"Harry he didn't mean it, he was only trying to help!" Hermione whispered, as numerous students continued to stare.

"Move Along!" Ginny growled at a group of students who had stopped to gawk at them. The kids quickly darted down the remaining stairs, and away from Ginny's unpleasing demeanor.

All of Harry's anger seemed to melt away at the sound of Ginny's voice. Harry found himself staring at his hand, as Ginny intertwined her hand with his.

"Relax.." She whispered soothingly, as she squeezed his hand gently.

A warm, tingling sensation erupted from her touch, which spread all over his body, and sent his stomach to do back flips.

Suddenly, an overwhelming sensation overtook his body as his mind clouded over. Ginny's concerned tone sounded distant as Harry swayed from dizziness.

Then it all went black.

**I know, kind of boring, and super short, (sorry, I didn't realize it would be so short!) but I'm trying to build up to a few chapters after this(: Sorry! It will get better, I promise! Also, I think I'm going to have a little more Ginny/Harry moments in these first two chapters or so, because I don't feel as though you see too much of it in the movies. =)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the extremely short first chapter, but unfortunately due to my attempt to make the chapters evenly written, this one will probably be just a little bit longer =( So sorry! But I promise that chapter 3 will be MUCH longer! I just finished it, so I should have it up at least by Saturday! And as you may have noticed, I'm writing in the form of the Harry Potter books, just because I'm so used to it, and I thought it would be interesting if the story played out this way. Anyway, here is chapter 2, I hope you enjoy it, and as always please review and let me know how it's going(:**

_Chapter 2_

_Some Unexpected Guests_

Harry stirred as his mind began to return to reality.

"Harry?" Hermione and Ginny said together, a motherly expressing engulfing both of their faces.

Harry sat up absentmindedly and looked at the train compartment around him, confused.

"Wh..Where am I?" Harry stuttered as a train whistle blew somewhere near by.

"You're on the train, Harry. You sort of fainted. Professor McGonagall stalled the train as long as she could, but it had to leave eventually," Hermione explained, "So she just sent Madam Pompfrey on the train." She finished.

"She didn't want you to miss the train, and have to go home to the Dursleys." Ginny explained further. Harry looked down and saw that Ginny's hand was on his again.

"You gave us a right good scare there, mate." Ron mumbled.

Harry momentarily forgot the fight between him and his best friend, until it hit him like a brick. Harry looked up at Ron, who was sitting across from him, and next to Hermione.

"Ron…" Harry stammered, "I'm sor.." Harry said guilty but was cut off by Ron.

"No, it's my fault Harry, I was out of line, I know how close you and Dumbledore were. I'm the one who should be apologizing." Ron said apologetically.

"I am too. I shouldn't have went off like that." Harry replied, slightly embarrassed by his actions.

"At least you didn't sick birds on me..."Ron said, side glancing at Hermione, who was staring out the window.

Hermione smirked and mumbled sarcastically, "Honestly Ronald, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ron looked slightly taken back, but soon enough the trio erupted into laughter, leaving Ginny slightly perplexed.

"So, what exactly is wrong with me?" Harry asked, giving a puzzled look toward his companions.

As if on cue, Madam Pompfrey bustled into the room carrying a glass of water.

"Over-exhaustion and fatigue, nothing too serious, but you do need rest," Madam Pompfrey said, also looking around at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, "And judging y the sight of it, I'd say you all could use a few day's rest." She added sweetly.

Harry had not realized the stress that he had put his body through the past week-or-so. He had been in his room most of the time, either crying, or staring down the Marauders Map for a name; a name in which he had wished he could inflict so much pain on, he would explode. Severus Snape.

"Well, drink this, and if you lot don't mind I'll be heading back to Hogwarts now." Madam Pompfrey stated, interjecting Harry's thoughts.

"Thank you!" Harry and the other three managed before she dissapparated into thin air.

"Well, Harry you better get some rest." Hermione said, indicating to a pillow Madam Pompfrey had left him.

He nodded and leaned on the wall, a stray yawn escaping his mouth.

"It was so nice of your mum to invite us over for these next few days." Hermione said to Ron and Ginny.

"Yeah, Bill said he had a surprise and wanted to come down and tell us all. So we called up Charlie, and he said he might stop down too, so mum figured that she'd throw a little party." Ron explained.

"We haven't seen Charlie since he left, it's been ages..."Ginny said, her voice trailing a bit.

They're voices slowly faded as Harry fell into a deep and well needed sleep.

%%%%

Harry slowly aroused, after he didn't know how long, and looked around to see the others asleep.

Ginny was curled up against him, sleeping peacefully at his side. Trying not to wake Ginny, he looked across the compartment and saw Ron, leaning against the window, snoring loudly. Hermione was leaning on Ron, with her head on his shoulders.

"'Bout time." Ginny whispered, startling Harry.

"Definitely." Harry said, grinning in agreement.

Ginny straightened up a little, still leaning on Harry. Harry took Ginny's hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. He smiled, took her chin, and leaned in.

They're lips met for an instant before the train gave a sickening lurch forward, the brakes screeching loudly.

"Bloody Hell!" Ron managed as they fell forward.

Harry grabbed onto Ginny, so that she wouldn't fly off the seat. Ron and Hermione however, had still been out cold, and were thrown forward. Ron fell into the isle between the two seats, his back making a loud thud as it hit the floor. Hermione did a stomach dive on top Ron, his arms closing around her as her body crashed into his.

They opened their eyes, and looked at each other for a moment, realizing what had just happened. Looking down at Hermione, his face as red as his hair, he stammered "I…uhh…"

Ron suddenly cringed, and let out a groan of pain.

"Um Hermione? Could you, uhh." Ron stuttered, indicating towards his lower body. Hermione squealed slightly embarrassed, realizing that her knee was located on a very delicate place of Ron's.

"I'm sorry!" Hermione said, blushing. She clambered out of Ron's arms and back onto the seat, farther away from Ron.

Harry and Ginny snickered, grinning wildly.

"Oh shut it." Ron retorted climbing back onto the seat.

Their laughter was cut short however, as the lights on the train noisily burnt out, and a heart-wrenching sinister laugh could be heard above all else.

(:


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! So, here is chapter 3! Thanks for those of you who are continuing to review, and are giving me some really encouraging feedback, I really appreciate it! (: Unfortunately due to my busy schedule at the moment, I haven't had much time to write (let alone think) about chapter four yet, so it might not be up for a little while. I'm so sorry, but I really want to spend a good amount of time on chapter 4 because that when I need to get my facts straight and really start getting the adventure going! Sorry if this chapter isn't written as great as I would have hoped it could be, I felt like I kind of messed up on a few parts…=S Anyway, happy reading! I hope you enjoy it! And as always, if you can, review and let me know how it's going (:**

_Chapter 3_

_Hogwarts Express in Distress_

Harry's scar began to violently throb as he doubled over in pain on the compartment floor. Curling up into a ball, he felt the vibrations from Ginny, Hermione, and Ron's feet as they rushed toward him.

The pain became too overwhelming as he became lost in a mind that was not his own. Images flashed through his mind like flashes of lightning; images of Cedric Diggory lying dead at his feet, Voldemort flying through the moonlit sky, flashes of green accompanied by numerous screams, and Dumbledore's lifeless body blankly staring at the night sky.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled over the screams of numerous first year students. Ron had supported him halfway onto the seat, as Ginny and Hermione each crouched around him, shaking him violently and yelling things at him that he just couldn't seem to hear.

"You're a fool, Harry Potter! And you will lose!" Voldemort's voice distantly called, ringing throughout Harry's ears.

Harry fought to regain control of his mind and his body. He found his way back to reality, closing his mind to Voldemort, and opened his eyes just in time to see the entire room tumble sideways.

Harry was thrown onto the train's window located across the hall; Ginny landing right on top of him, while Ron and Hermione landed on either side of them.

"Was goin on?" Ron yelled over the chaos of the panicked students all along the hallway windows.

"Death Eaters!" A blond-haired boy screamed, as a jet of fire blasted apart the end of The Hogwarts Express.

A gaping hole was left in its place, smoke completely fogging up the atmosphere. Ash and soot covered the screaming students at the end of the train, who had been blasted everywhere.

The foursome climbed onto the windows steadily, trying to regain their balance on the slippery surface of the windows by using the walls for extra support.

"We've got to go help! Come on!" Ginny yelled, briskly jogging toward a student who was holding his bloody side at the end of the hall, the trio close behind.

Another explosion rocketed the train and shook it like an earthquake, causing both Harry and Ron to lose their balance, leaving a large gap between Ginny and Hermione. A deafening explosion erupted all around them, as the foursome was thrown airborne once again.

Ginny and Hermione were both thrown forwards toward the back of the train; Ginny crashing into Luna Lovegood and Hermione crashed painfully into a compartment wall. Ron and Harry were both blasted backwards; Ron smashed through a compartment door window, sending shards of glass flying everywhere, and Harry crashed into several trunks; all of which landed on top of him.

Ron struggled to stand, his feet slipping on stray pieces of glass. His face had numerous bleeding cuts, while small shards of glass had impaled themselves into his body on both sides. Ginny and Luna helped each other to a standing position, while Hermione slowly got to her knees, rubbing her head fiercely.

Harry struggled to get up due to a heavy trunk that had landed on his chest, but with the help of Ron, they're combined strength made it possible to thrust it off. Harry got up and slowly jogged towards the girls to regroup.

He felt strong hands grasp his shirt, as he began to fall forward. There, in the middle of the five friends, stood a gaping hole, which separated the two groups.

Realizing that the only thing to do was split up, Harry motioned toward the end of the train, "Go! We'll catch up with you! Go help the kids!" Harry yelled over the uproar.

"Hermione, can you dissapparate and get help?" Harry asked, knowing that she was probably the only one who could locate help and come back fast enough. She nodded instantaneously, and was gone in a flash.

"Be careful!" Harry added, looking directly at Ginny, and side-glancing at Luna as Ron nodded behind him in agreement.

"C'mon, let's go!" Harry said, turning towards the full-out battle that had begun outside the train, Ron at his heels.

They sprinted up to the front of the train, stopping at the entrance to gaze out at the full out Wizard/Witch vs. Death Eater brawl.

It was like a light show; Harry and Ron gazed out into the torrential downpour, mystified by the blinding flashes on red, blue, orange, purple and green.

Before their minds could register movement, Neville ran up to them, covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. He was sporting a large cut on his chest, the blood from it already turning his white shirt red.

"Harry! Ron! Come quick! We need help on the other side of those hills, we're getting beaten down!" He mumbled quickly, sprinting off into the dark just as fast as he had come.

"C'mon!" Ron said, sprinting after Neville. Harry trailed behind them, redirecting his eyes to his surroundings to truly see the damage that the Death Eaters had done.

The setting was not in the least bit pretty. The Hogwarts Express lay nearly demolished on its side with huge chunks of it missing. The hills that surrounded it were sprawled in lifeless and moaning bodies, too injured to fight. Capable students were dueling to keep the Death Eaters at bay, praying for some sort of aide to help them in their struggle.

Harry rushed over to help numerous second years fight off a small and plump looking Death Eater that was giving them a hard time. With his help, the Death Eater retreated in a puff of black smoke.

Having lost sight of Neville and Ron, Harry decided to go help more distraught students. He darted in front of a brunette girl to block a fiery blue curse aimed straight at her. The curse rebounded off of his wand like a basketball to a backboard, and flew back at the Death Eater who sent the curse. Harry recognized the Death Eater as Thicknesse, one of the Death Eaters that had been there when Dumbledore was murdered by Snape. Through the little slits in Thicknesses' mask Harry noticed a sudden change of composure as he came to a realization. Thicknesse put his wand to his throat and began to utter three words, "I found Po-" but was cut off as the brunette girl yelled "Silencio!"

The last word of his sentence was cut abruptly short as his voice went mute. Harry stood still, slightly bewildered at what was going on.

Thicknesse looked menacingly at the little girl and mutely sent a jet of green straight at her heart.

"Protego!" Harry cried, sending an invisible force field between the girl and certain death. Thicknesse aimed his wand at Harry angrily.

"Stupefy!" The girl yelled, as Thicknesse was caught off guard and crumpled onto the ground in a heap.

"Thank you." The girl said smiling up at him gratefully. Her partially frizzy hair had reminded Harry of Hermione when he had met her his very first year of Hogwarts.

"No problem, and thank you too." Harry replied, smiling at the thought.

"Don't let them get you, you're our only last hope against….Him. You can beat him, and we won't stop fighting until you defeat him. Don't give up, we believe in you. I believe in you." The girl said encouragingly. The girl gave him one last smile, turned, and ran off too join her fighting comrades. Harry stood rooted to the spot, slightly dumbstruck by the girl's encouraging speech.

A flash of blazing red hair swept across his vision as his eyes began to focus in on a very familiar face. Ron's. He turned to look at Ron, who was panting heavily; his hair was plastered to his face due to the downpour of rain, his lip was bleeding heavily, and he still had pieces of glass embedded in his back.

"Ron! What happened?" Harry said bewildered.

"Harry! Thank God you're okay! I knew they wouldn't be able to get you!" Ron said, doubling over, and still breathing heavily.

"What? What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"I thought I'd never find you! The Death Eaters, they're trying to get to you through all of us! They figure if they get someone close to you that you'll give yourself up! They nearly got Seamus and Dean! Neville and I got outnumbered loads of times, I can't believe we made it out!" Ron explained quickly.

"How would they have known who I-" Harry said, stopping mid-sentence.

"Malfoy!" Harry and Ron both concluded simultaneously.

Ron and Harry immediately turned toward a gut-wrenching sound could be heard clearly above all of the chaos. A shrill scream had caught their attention. A girl's scream. Ginny's.

It took a second for the scream to register in both Harry and Ron's minds before they took off, wordlessly, toward the direction that it had come.

They caught up with Neville, who was helping Luna off of the ground. Luna had a large cut running the length of her jawbone, and looked completely disoriented. Harry and Ron rushed to help Neville with Luna, who was having trouble standing straight.

"Luna? Are you alright? Where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Mal….foy." Luna stuttered motioning towards a giant hole that led back into the train.

"Neville, are you going to be alright with Luna?" Ron asked concerned, but he had a certain fire in his eye as he took his eyes off of Luna and looked towards where she had indicated.

Slightly scared, Neville nodded and said "Yeah Ron, I got her."

"Good, can you get her someplace safe?" Harry asked Neville, seriously concerned for Luna and Neville's well-being at this point.

"Sure! No problem!" Neville replied disappearing on the spot.

"Good, cause I'm gonna kill Malfoy." Ron said walking angrily towards the train, Harry jogging to catch up behind him.

"He's dead." Harry spat as he and Ron entered the train once again.

They were greeted by a group of Death Eaters; a blonde, a short and plump one, and a tall brunette. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"C'mon Malfoy, you got the date wrong for Halloween again?" Ron growled, not an etch of humor in his tone.

"Well boys, looks like Weasel-bee does have some brain cells in that enormously thick head of it." Malfoy sneered, and with a wave of his wand his mask vanished. Crabbe and Goyle also took their masks off, following Malfoy like lost puppies.

"Nothing ever gets past you two, does it?" Crabbe joked sarcastically, as Goyle laughed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a heap of red hair laying near the side of the wall of the hallway, in-between him and Malfoy.

"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, as both he and Ron took a step toward her motionless body.

"Ah, ah, aaaah," Malfoy jeered, raising his wand at Harry, Crabbe and Goyle mimicking him.

"I'll kill you Malfoy!" Ron growled, raising his own wand at Malfoy.

"Your sister should start paying more attention to her surroundings; it was too easy to get her from behind." Malfoy said, grinning evilly.

"I'll kill you Malfoy!" Harry bellowed angrily at Malfoy.

"Aw has Potter got himself a girlfriend? Well, lost one actually…you're time is coming too Potter, don't worry," Malfoy sneered, "Scared Potter?"

"You wish." Harry replied angrily, raising his wand. Harry's blood began to boil, and by the looks of it, so was Ron's.

The next few moments started to blur together, as both parties continued to hole they're wand at each other. Just as both Malfoy and Harry were about to set loose their wands, a figure materialized between the two of them.

"Hermione?" Ron and Harry said together in bewilderment, as Hermione turned towards the sound of their voice in confusion.

"Harry? Ron? What's going-" Hermione said utterly confused.

Malfoy snorted, "I was hoping I'd be the one to kill you off granger, you filthy little Mud-blood." He finished. Harry's heart raced, he was too far away from Hermione to help her.

Completely shocked to hear his voice, Hermione spun on the spot just in time to see a green streak emanate from Malfoy's wand, straight at her.

Ron was off his feet in a split second, diving into Hermione, death missing them by millimeters. Harry sent several jinxes at a confused Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, all of which who avoided them.

Ron and Hermione tumbled onto the floor, coming to a stop due a collision into a wall. Ron landed protectively on top of Hermione, shielding her from any other harm. Hermione opened her eyes and gazed up at Ron, who stared back at her. Embarrassed, she let go of Ron's muscular bicep, her cheeks as scarlet as the Hogwarts Express.

"Are you alright?" Ron stuttered, his ears turning scarlet as she nodded.

"Any day would be great you two!" Harry yelled, avoiding a full body bind jinx by inches, interrupting their moment.

"Right, uh, sorry!" Ron said, helping Hermione up, as she sent a flash of red toward Malfoy.

"Aw look at the two love birds!" Malfoy jeered, sending a blaze of orange at the two. Ron pushed Hermione out of the way, attempting to block the curse with his wand. The curse hit his wand, and then exploded in a fiery supernova in front of his face, singeing his hair, and nearly incinerating his eyebrows. Ron responded with a curse of his own; a blue flame erupted from his wand, entangling Malfoy in a fiery rope.

Hermione noticed Ginny on the floor and ran over to her, examining her carefully, Hermione's eyes widened in horror. Ron and Harry continued to hold off Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, as Hermione yelled "She needs to be taken to a hospital. Now."

"Get out of here! Go, we'll be fine!" Harry yelled, as Hermione looked at Ron and Harry disapprovingly.

"I'll come right back, The Order is on their way!" She yelled, and then for the second time that day, dissapparated into thin air.

Suddenly, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle all laid their wands down at their side, and began laughing sinisterly.

Harry and Ron both stopped battling, and looked at each other, completely confused.

"Ahhh Potter, how nice it is to see you again." An all-too familiar voice said from behind them.

**So let me know what you think(: Lol, oh and being the nerd that I am, I couldn't resist adding a few movie/book quotes into this one.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Well, here is chapter 4! This chapter gave me a little trouble, for some reason I just didn't know how to start it, so I tried a different angle. Hopefully it worked out okay..., sorry if it turned out kind of boring. Also, a big thank you to everyone who is continuing to review, I really appreciate it! Thank you all so much for your encouragement! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! And please, if you have the time, review and let me know how it's going (:**

_Chapter 4:_

_The Truth_

Deep within a forest of ancient trees lies a man hidden from the world, in a place where few traveled, and even fewer have seen. This man was unlike any other, he was special, but was blinded by greed and opportunity. He tampered with things that shouldn't have ever been tampered with, and paid a great price for it. He made all the wrong choices, and is cursed forever because of it.

%%

Harry had felt fear before; almost everyday of his life he felt a jolt of it from his very own thoughts and dreams. Fearful thoughts of Voldemort killing everyone close to him came frequently, as did how he had to relive all of the deaths that he had come to witness by Voldemort's hand, causing him to feel an immeasurable amount of guilt and sadness. However, there was one dream that he had been having frequently that plagued him, for he had not come to witness this one, but every time it flashed in his mind it felt so real that he swear he could hear the leaves crunch after each footstep. The dream was of him walking through a forest to die at the mercy of Voldemort to save those that he loved, knowing fully well that he would not be able to avoid death this time, like he had so many years before.

Never before in his life had he ever felt this type of fear, it was overpowering his body and causing his entire being to go numb. Those eyes; they seemed to stare into the soul at a glance, scouring it's victim's body of happiness and hope; and that voice; the fact that it curved off of his tongue like a snake, would send bone chilling waves throughout Harry's body, making him nauseous. Harry had felt it so many times before, everything about Him made Harry feel weak, but the fact that he was caught this off guard, and completely cornered by the man that would change the fate of the world unless Harry could stop him, was completely disheartening.

He was finished, and was going to be finished off in the very place where he was truly happy, and with the people he loved.

Voldemort was right behind him. He was done.

Harry and Ron abruptly turned to confront the faceless voice and to Harry's surprise it wasn't the person he thought he heard.

Lucius Malfoy? Bellatrix Lestrange? Fenrir Greyback? Where was Voldemort? Harry knew he had heard his voice. Was he imagining things?

Harry's thoughts came back to the predicament before him for a moment, and looking around he noticed that he and Ron were both clearly outnumbered, six to two. They weren't going to be able to hold them off for very long if they had to fight.

Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances, both realizing the same thing: they would have to make a stand and fight, or die trying.

Lucius gave a malevolent laugh under his breath at the sight of their faces, while Bellatrixs' cackle set off like a firecracker in the hallway. Time itself seemed to slow.

"Potter, let me make this...simple. Give yourself up, and we'll give you the antidote." Lucius stated plainly, as Bellatrix took a step closer to Harry twirling her wand around in her hair.

"Don't you want to save her?" She whispered.

"What are you talking abo-" Harry started but was cut off as Malfoy spoke up.

"We didn't get the chance to tell him yet. You see… we were savoring the moment." Malfoy said, grinning at Ron and Harry's glares.

"Oh, how rude of me! You see, The Dark Lord gave us a special task: we've injected your darling little…sister with a rare kind of illness, one that has only one antidote; an antidote that we and only we have. There is no other in the entire world." Lucius explained, as Harry's anger rose to a dangerously high level.

If you hurt her-" Harry growled as a familiar voice rang in his ears once again.

"Kill him… You know you want to. He hurt her, she's going to die because of him, kill him. He deserves it." It taunted in his mind, as Harry's scar erupted in agonizing shockwaves of pain.

Realization hit him like a train; Voldemort was inside his mind, flipping through his thoughts and memories like an open book.

"So, now that that's cleared up, let's get back to the deal, we want you in exchange for the antidote." Bellatrix snarled, taking her wand from her hair to point it at Harry.

"They're lying! Don't listen to them Harry, it's a trap!" Ron said angrily, staring down Lucius.

Harry's vision blurred as the voice in his head continued to taunt him in his mind.

"Kill him…you have to mean it." The voice continued to whisper in his mind. Everyone in the room seemed to be completely oblivious to Harry's inner struggle, as the conversation continued without a second glance at him.

"On the contrary, Weasley, it's far from a lie. We did exactly as we said. Your stupid sister is infected with the rarest disease in the world." Malfoy said, a sly smile spreading across his face.

Harry focused in on what was going on his mind, trying to block out the situation around him.

"I'm not like you. You kill innocent people so that wizards will fear you. You've never felt love, or friendship; only hate and anger towards the world who you believe rejected you, and I feel sorry for you." Harry repeatedly thought, momentarily closing the connection between Voldemort and himself. Harry focused back in on reality just in time to grab Ron from lunging at Malfoy.

"I'll kill you if you hurt her in any way-"Ron bellowed, struggling against Harry's hold, trying to get close enough to rip Malfoy apart.

Malfoy erupted into a laughing fit, taunting Ron, Crabbe and Goyle doing the same.

"The damage is done. Only Potter can save her now." Bellatrix said sighing, as if she were bored of the situation.

"What if I think that this is just a trap, and I chose no?" Harry asked, trying to buy some time to think of how they were going to get out of this situation alive. Harry let go of Ron, who was still fuming, but was much more under control than he had been a few moments ago. He and Ron turned to face Lucius, putting their backs to Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, if you'd rather watch him die, and then come with us, we can do that too." Lucius said, indicating to Ron. As if on cue, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle dove and tackled Ron to the ground. Ron was caught completely off guard, and struggled heavily against the three, managing to punch Malfoy in the face and give a well-deserved broken nose.

Fenrir Greyback was at Harry's side in an instant, blocking him from helping Ron. Harry watched in horror, as Malfoy and Goyle took turns punching Ron in the gut, while Goyle held him tightly from behind. Ron cried out in pain and fell to his knees as they continued t beat him down.

"Enough!" Lucius called from across the hallway, as Malfoy smiled as he took one last cheap shot to Ron's face.

"Let's get on with this Potter," Bellatrix taunted, walking over to Ron, shoving her wand at his throat. "Unless you want me to help you speed things up..." She added mouthing the words Crucio, shoving her wand deeper into his throat.

"Harry! Don't!" Ron managed before Bellatrix silenced him with her wand.

Looking from Ron, to Lucius, Harry saw no other option. He had to give himself in, or think of something.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed, as Ron writhed in agony, falling completely to the floor in overwhelming pain ad agony.

"Stop! Stop it! Fine, I'll go with you! Let Ron go and give him the antidote." Harry yelled, walking towards Lucius, Bellatrixs' wand falling to her side, a sinister smile across her face.

Harry was done; he had to give up; for Ron's sake, for Ginny's, for the kids still fighting outside the train. There was no other option.

He was inches away from Lucius' outstretched hand when a cloud of white smoke appeared behind him. Harry stopped dead in his tracks; it was Lupin. Tonks appeared right behind him, along with Kingsley, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Mad-eye, and Hermione. The Order had come.

Several things happened at once; Bellatrix disappeared in a puff of black smoke, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle began yelling incoherent things, and Lucius Malfoy turned around to find eight wands pointed at his face.

Five jets of red flashed toward him, sending his body flying backward. Fenrir Greyback charge; as Tonks sent a mirage of orange flashes towards him, all of which hit the target and sending him flying into a wall. He got up, and seeing that they were clearly beaten, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Malfoy ran towards Lucius, gave Harry a glance full of pure hatred, and dissapparated with his stunned father. Goyle and Crabbe dropped Ron, dissapparating on the spot. Ron crumbled to the ground, struggling to get back up. Harry ran over to help support him.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, running over to help Harry with Ron, who was kneeling next to him. They helped him stand, supporting him on their shoulders, Hermione's arm around the small of Ron's back, as he groaned in pain.

"Harry! Ron! Are you alright? What happened?" Hermione asked her eyes slightly watery, as she rapidly fired questions at Harry, who was still slightly dazed. Ron moaned, and collapsed onto the floor; Harry and Hermione quickly helping him back up.

"Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix..."He managed before Mr. Weasley's loud voice interrupted him.

"Kids, get back to the Burrow! We'll clean up this mess!" He said, as The Order members filed out of the train, Bellatrixs' cackle echoing in the background.

"Come on, I'll explain when we get back to the burrow." Harry said the trio dissapparating back to the safety of the burrow.

%%

They appeared in the kitchen of the burrow in front of a flustered Mrs. Weasley, and several other people Harry had never seen before. The kitchen was a complete disaster; there were adults and students everywhere, chairs were sprawled all over the place, and cupboards were left hanging open, their contents empty.

Harry looked around at the infirmary that Mrs. Weasley had transformed her house into. Many students that he did not recognize bustled around, stopping at each bed to see how they could help. Harry saw Luna lying on a couch, Neville sitting at her side stroking her hand. Harry also saw the little brunette girl that had helped him battle Thicknesse earlier, being taken outside on a cot. Harry's stomach twisted, she wasn't moving and was white as a ghost. Harry jumped as Mrs. Weasley abruptly turned around.

Mrs. Weasley jumped, as surprised as Harry was to see the three of them there, supporting a very pale Ron.

"Harry! What happened," She said, helping them bring Ron to an empty cot near the stairs. "Here put him here, with the others." She explained helping them put him onto a cot, immediately tending to him.

"Well…," Harry began as Mrs. Weasley put her hand up to silence him.

"Later, please. This place is such a mess right now, everyone injured was brought here from the train. I want to get you cleaned up, but after you've rested." She explained, pointing to the stairs.

"No, Mrs. Weasley! I can help! I need to tell you about-" Harry began but was once again cut off by Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, please. Later, Rest now!" Mrs. Weasley commanded, bustling off to help another injured student who was moaning and writhing in pain.

"But it's important!" Harry yelled after her, struggling to stay conscious as waves of exhaustion swept over his body. As much as he didn't want to, he stumbled up the stairs towards Ron's bedroom, glancing back down at the chaos of the burrow.

Hermione was tending to Ron, stealing chances to sit at his bedside when she wasn't helping Mrs. Weasley with other students. Everyone seemed to be taken care of.

He slowly walked up the remaining stairs, crashing into the extra bed that had been set up for him in Ron's room.

Every thought emptied his mind as exhaustion engulfed him and he allowed himself to be taken by the darkness around him.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5:_

_Conclusions_

_Ginny._

Harry's eyes flew open as he sat bolt upright in bed, recounting the details of yesterday's events. Yesterday felt like a terrible dream, one that he couldn't erase from his mind, yet something about it was nagging at his insides. His eyes widened in realization, how could he have been so thoughtless…so selfish…so stupid? How could he not even mention Ginny's condition to Mrs. Weasley, despite whether or not he believed Lucius' claims? Harry felt beyond ashamed of himself to have not even registered a thought about Ginny's whereabouts, or even attempt to see her. He had just been so exhausted, and extremely terrified that he wouldn't have enough strength to fend off Voldemort if he tried to infiltrate his mind again.

Harry shoved the blankets off of himself and clambered noisily out of bed, bolting for the door. He rushed down the stairs towards Ginny's bedroom, hoping beyond measure that she would be standing there, healthy and smiling back at him when he opened the door.

She wasn't.

Harry's heart dropped as he looked around Ginny's room; it seemed absent of all human presence until a heap of sweaters leaning on the bed looked up at him through tear-streaked eyes.

"Harry…" Mrs. Weasley choked through her sobs, fresh tears streaming down her face. Completely surprised, she stumbled to a standing position with a forced smile.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence Mrs. Weasley broke it, "Before Ron fell asleep he explained what happened on the train, oh and he should be fine; he just needs rest. That was a terrible situation, I'm so glad you're both alright…" She said her voice trailing off as her forced smile wavered. Harry found it odd that she still hadn't mentioned Ginny, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry…last night…Ginny…She's in—" Harry began, not knowing where to begin his long explanation until he stopped short due to Mrs. Weasley's hand shooting up to silence him.

"Harry…I already know, she's at St. Mungo's. She's far worse than they thought," She whispered, avoiding eye contact with Harry to attempt and hold herself together. "We are going to visit her later, if you would like to join us." Mrs. Weasley continued as her eyes filled up once again, as she became lost in her thoughts.

"Mrs. Weasley, the Death Eaters, they have the antidote, and they want me to turn myself over for it and I will if—" Harry began once again, as Mrs. Weasley's overfilled eyes spilled over, lining her cheeks with fresh trails of tears.

"Harry…you have helped this family in so many ways; ways you can't even begin to understand. I could never allow you to do that." Mrs. Weasley said, taking a step closer to Harry.

"But I want to save—" Harry tried once again.

"I know you do Harry but I won't allow it. The world needs you; I can't just let you throw your life away like that, no matter the circumstances. Besides…there may possibly be another way…" Mrs. Weasley continued, a flicker of hope springing up inside of Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked anxiously, dropping his voice as soon as he saw Mrs. Weasley's expression waver. Harry hadn't realized how close she was to her breaking point until he stopped to look into her eyes; they expressed what she was feeling clearly; completely tortured and hopeless.

There were a few steps still between them but Harry closed the distance and hugged her tightly. Caught off by the gesture, Mrs. Weasley gave him a genuine smile, and hugged him back.

"I'll do whatever it takes Mrs. Weasley." Harry whispered as his eyes filled up, hers continuing to stream down her cheeks.

"I know you will Harry, thank you." Mrs. Weasley said through sobs. After a few moments, Mrs. Weasley broke the embrace, and grabbing Harry's shoulders softly said, "Now let's get you something to eat, you look like you haven't eaten in weeks!" She continued, changing the subject quickly.

"But what about—" Harry said as he wiped his eyes.

"We'll talk about that later, when Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George get back from the Ministry." She said, grabbing a basket of clothes and gliding out the door, leaving Harry alone in Ginny's room. He longed to see her smiling face to comfort him due to the lonely and depressed state he was in.

He would do whatever it took to save her; for Mrs. Weasley's sake, well for the Weasley's in general, but also because he was nothing without her. She was his reason to keep fighting the man that took his parents from him and to keep the ever-changing darkness and grief that threatened to swallow his heart at bay. Harry smiled to himself and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

He loved her.

%%

In the course of a few hours, Harry, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley had managed to make the crowd of people still at the burrow breakfast, tend to all those that still needed it, and send off the remaining students and parents that were now able to go back home. Only Luna and Neville had stayed behind begging Mrs. Weasley to let them see Ginny, happily helping clean up when she said yes.

Harry and Hermione sat down on the couch, exhausted, as Mrs. Weasley walked upstairs.

Harry looked at the clock on the wall; it said five forty-five, fifteen minutes until Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie came home, and then they could finally go and see Ginny at St. Mungo's.

It was fifteen minutes too long.

Harry's train of thought was abruptly interrupted as he heard the thumping of footsteps on the stairs, and looked up to see Ron descending.

"Mum, I'm fine! I'm going to go see her, and you can't stop me!" Ron argued with Mrs. Weasley who was yelling at him from the top of the stairs.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you are going nowhere near that hospital in your condition!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, her voice echoing throughout the house.

"Mum, I want to see her! I'm completely fine!" Ron argued, as he tripped dizzily down the final step, ramming into a wall, casing Harry and Hermione to grin.

"Well…almost…"Ron corrected himself under his breath, slightly grinning.

"Ronald! Get back to bed!" Mrs. Weasley scolded angrily.

Suddenly, the front door of the burrow opened abruptly, and in came Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George.

"Dad!" Ron said surprised, as Mrs. Weasley thundered down the steps to embrace her battle-weary husband and two sons.

"The Ministry is a wreck; Scrimgeor is having trouble covering this one up." Mr. Weasley announced, Mrs. Weasley hugging him tightly.

"Serves him right. He should have believed Harry in the first place, covering it up only made it worse." Bill mumbled angrily.

"Now, now, Bill. It's not his fault he's a crazy tosspot." Charlie said grinning, brushing his long red hair out of eyes, and causing the entire mood to lighten and numerous people to laugh.

After an exchange of hugs and warm welcomes to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville; Arthur, Bill, Charlie and Fred and George went upstairs to clean themselves up.

Ron looked around the room suspiciously and saw that Mrs. Weasley, Luna and Neville had resumed cleaning, so he began to speak quietly, "Mum said she's in pretty bad shape, but she also said that there's possibly another way to save her. She won't tell me what it is, but she says that the man we are supposed to look for might not even actually exist…So we're going to talk about it later…" Ron explained sleepily, as a perplexed look overcame Hermione's face.

"I think I might know what she's talking about, I've read a great deal of things about the wizarding world that apparently most wizards are still skeptic about, however; more of the elders still believe that they still exist.

"But they can't possibly exist then…most of the older wizards have lost they're minds, and have no idea what they're going on about half the time!" Ron argued feebly for he wanted to believe but the evidence wasn't accurate enough.

"What about the Chamber of Secrets, Ron? You know just as well as I do that it exists, I mean you and I have been in it! And no one believed that existed!" Harry piped up, liking that some has his skepticism had vanished.

"True…Well, than that means Ginny still has a chance!" Ron said excitedly, as Harry and Hermione nodded; hope springing up like daisies inside of them.

After a few moments of silence, Harry couldn't bare to keep the question inside of him any longer, "Do we know what is wrong with Ginny? Like what disease they were talking about?" Harry asked somberly, everyone's grins disappearing on the spot.

"Well, I'm not sure what the doctors think it is, but I think I know what it is…," Hermione said quietly, Ron and Harry gazing at her as she continued, "Well I think it's a disease called _Sparkinsons_. She has these weird little green dots all over her, and there's a strange clouding over her eyes that is causing her to become partially blind, which are two of the main symptoms that point to that specific disease… and it is very rare, so it fits the description." Hermione continued, Ron and Harry continuing to fix their gazes on her.

"But how did you know that? The book that you read must have been ancient or something, because I've never heard of anyone getting this disease." Harry said becoming lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah, not that I don't believe you or anything Hermione, because we all know your bloody brilliant, but how do you know all of this?" Ron asked, completely puzzled.

Hermione sighed and avoiding Ron and Harry's gaze said,

"Because…Dumbledore had it before."

Lol, okay, yes, the name for the disease is stupid, but that was the best that I could think of, considering the other names I thought of were completely ridiculous =D Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter 5! I'm loading on the Ginny/ Harry moments this next chapter or so, for obvious reasons, so all you Harry/Ginny shippers, enjoy! Don't worry though, the Ron and Hermione stuff is not too far ahead (:


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6:_

_The countdown begins_

Harry stared blankly at Hermione in disbelief, "What?"

Hermione sighed heavily and looked nervously around the room before continuing, "He got Sparkinsons a long time ago, right after his sister died."

"How in the name of Merlin did you find that out?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Let's just say reading restricted books and biographies during summer boredom led me to an odd-looking book in an old library down the street from my house." Hermione explained further, a slight etch of uneasiness in her tone.

"But you live—well like me; in the muggle world, how would they have something like that in a library?" Harry asked, slightly puzzled by circumstances.

"Well you see that I'm not exactly sure of, the librarian is a very old lady, and she almost reminded me of McGonagall…so I thought maybe she could possibly be an elderly witch, like other people that have moved into the muggle world. But anyway I stumbled upon this book in the back of the library, in a place where I had walked by and never noticed it hundreds of times before, it was almost in a completely obvious place but you couldn't see it unless you looked the bookshelf from a strange angle," Hermione said, the trio exchanging slightly nervous glances. "It was so odd…It practically crumbled under my fingers when I took it from the back of the bookshelf! I checked it out at the desk and the sweet little librarian gave me this completely deranged look… I began reading the book and it said all this stuff about this all-knowing man who was connected to this "Pool of Fortitude", and a strange flower that was lost over time and nonsense like that."Hermione said stopping to catch a breath and glance at the other two; Ron's mouth hung slightly open as both he and Harry stared transfixed back at her.

"Did you believe it?" Harry asked before Hermione had the chance to continue.

"Of course not, I thought it was all rubbish! But it was odd…no matter what I did I couldn't put the book down, it was like the book was telling me to keep reading…" Hermione whispered.

"Yeah because a book could do that—" Ron said chuckling, rolling his eyes in disbelief. Hermione glared at him, and Ron's smile quickly vanished, "Right, sorry, uhh continue." He stammered, attempting to avoid her icy gaze.

Sighing she began again, "Anyway, then it began to go on about this strange disease, and there were footnotes at the bottom of the book with some serious side-effects and names listed; something like B. Bagshot, J. Greg, M. Sinister, and A. Dumbledore…" Hermione finished clearly looking uneasy on the couch.

"Do you still know where this library is, or the book?" Harry began as Hermione shook her head.

"A day or two after I returned the book the library burned down, and the little old lady was never found." Hermione whispered as the bickering of Charlie, Fred and George's conversation began to get louder as they got closer.

They all sighed, "Of course. Why could it ever be that easy?" Ron said sheepishly, speaking what was on the minds of all three of them.

Fred, George, and Charlie stumbled down the staircase, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Bill, "Time to go." Mrs. Weasley said teary-eyed as the trio stood from the couch.

Finally.

%%

Harry had been to St. Mungo's briefly before, to visit Arthur Weasley after he had been attacked by Nagini, but he only remembered bits and pieces of that night due to the Occulmency he had to endure before and after his visit. St. Mungo's had a few different wards for different types of emergencies, and the one that they were in was the one Harry least liked, and was slightly puzzled as to why they were in it. The Psych ward. Hopefully, they were just passing through.

A strange sensation overwhelmed him as he stepped out of the brick fireplace; he wasn't quite sure if it was the overpowering lavender and elderly aroma or the fact that a cross-eyed old man in a straightjacket had walked up to him and asked him where the nearest gingerbread house was. Either way, it was making him extremely uncomfortable and itching to leave as soon as the fireplace relit itself behind him.

Refocusing his thoughts on finally having the chance to see Ginny, he began to smile for he knew it was all worth it. He filed down the completely white hallway next to Ron and Hermione, following the long line of Weasleys in front of him which also included Luna and Neville.

The hallway seemed to never end as he passed several nurses and doctors, all of whom were dressed in lime-green outfits, looking slightly ridiculous in the all-white hallway. Each time they passed through a patient's door it was accompanied by a horrible scream or cry begging for them to let them out or have mercy on them, unnerving Harry to his very core.

A shrill scream echoed throughout the hallway sending Harry's mind into a panicked barrage of concerned thoughts about Ginny, hoping that she was still sane after being in here for a day, for Harry thought he was beginning to go mad already and he had only been here a few moments.

He looked over at Ron and Hermione wondering if they were thinking similar thoughts; Ron was clenching his fists in frustration, a grim expression on his face, while Hermione's eyes had already begun to fill up, a few stray tears beginning to tumble down her face.

Another loud scream set off like a siren, making everyone jump a few inches, and to quickly flee as far from the source as possible.

Hermione jumped and grabbed Ron's hand as a loud crash broke the continuous rhythm of their footsteps against the floor. He looked down at her, the grim expression on his face morphing into a happy confusion mixed with sorrow for his sister. He half-smiled and didn't let go of her hand, and wiped a few remaining tears from her face, causing Harry to feel more alone than ever.

The trail of Weasley's that they had been following came to a stop in front of a closed door with a small doctor holding a clipboard in front of it. Everyone began to form a small semi-circle around the doctor, as he spoke in a quiet but grave voice, "She's doing remarkably well at this point, and hopefully she will be able to continue to keep this up for it will prolong the spread of the disease…however, she is starting to show signs of…insanity." The doctor said struggling to look any of the Weasley's in the eyes as he spoke.

Molly Weasley clung onto Arthur as if her very life depended on it and shakily asked, "Dr. Greg, can we…see her?"

He nodded solemnly, "Please, call me Jeff. She's asleep now, but she should come around soon, but be warned, you may not like what you see." He finished, and turned to lead the family into Ginny's room.

"Insanity?" Harry whispered as he stared, transfixed, at the back of dwarf-like doctor in shock. Harry had not been prepared for this; he shuddered as he tried not to think of Ginny as a permanent psychopathic patient at St. Mungo's.

Anger built up inside of him as he turned to glare at Hermione and Ron who had stayed behind with him in the hallway, "You knew! Why didn't you tell me?" He hissed at an extremely flustered Hermione.

"Harry, I didn't know! You have to believe me, I would have told you!" Hermione said her voice shaky, as she began to tremble as yet another ear-splitting scream echoed down the hallway.

"Lay off her Harry, she didn't do anything wrong! Malfoy is the one you should be thanking!" Ron said putting an arm around Hermione to calm her down, as Harry huffed and angrily stalked away from them toward a chair across the hallway. Ron and Hermione entered Ginny's room after a few moments, without a second glance at Harry.

Harry's thoughts began to spin out of control, as he paced in front of the chair. What if this is permanent? What if she doesn't remember anything; her family or her friends…or him? Harry tried to envision a life without her; but all that he could think of was a lonely and unbearable emptiness, and truthfully he would rather hand himself over to Voldemort than live without her. He sat down in the chair, on the verge of a mental breakdown, and decided to just stare at the white wall across the hall, and to try not to think at all.

Harry didn't know how much time had passed since his bicker with Ron and Hermione, so he peered over towards the doorway to see if he might finally be calm enough to see her. Just as he looked up, Luna's head popped out of the doorway and she cheerily asked, "Harry? Would you like to see Ginny? She's just come around." She said, quickly disappearing back into the room.

Harry got up, ready to face whatever could possibly happen when he ventured through the doors.

He slowly walked into the silent room, side-stepping a wall of Weasley's to catch a glimpse of the red hair and blue eyes that he had longed to see since the train; she lay in a hospital bed in the middle of the room, her hair slightly frizzy, and a smile breaking through her slightly solemn expression when she saw Harry.

Her eyes were indeed clouded over as Hermione had mentioned, and as he looked at her he caught a glimpse of the small green dots over various parts of her body.

"Well, we got our chance to talk to Gin," Fred began,

"I think Harry deserves to get his turn too. George finished as everyone cleared out of the room silently.

Harry turned his attention back to Ginny, pulling a chair closer to her bed as she smiled weakly.

"Ginny, how—how are you feeling?" Harry managed. His throat felt inhumanly thick, and looking at Ginny in such a terrible condition only made it worse. His anger flared outrageously at Malfoy; the cause of all her pain and suffering.

"Well, a bit better now…I can think pretty clear at the moment. I'm so glad everyone could come and see me, it really takes my mind off of everything…especially that you came to see me." Ginny whispered her voice hoarse and barely louder than a whisper.

Harry smiled, put his hand on Ginny's and leaned in to kiss her forehead lightly.

She smiled back at him as he began to find his voice and began, "So what did the Doctor say about your condition? Do they have a cure or anything?" Harry asked, as Ginny's smile faltered.

Avoiding Harry's gaze she spoke even quieter than before, "They don't know just yet…They are saying that there isn't a cure…" Ginny finished, removing her hand from Harry's grasp so that she could wipe away a few tears from her eyes.

"Ginny, it's going to be okay, we'll find the cure. I won't stop until we do, I'll do whatever it takes!" Harry said, attempting to comfort her but failing miserably.

"Harry…there's something else, if the cure isn't found within a certain time period …I'll die." She said, beginning to shake uncontrollably.

Harry stared breathlessly at Ginny, trying to comprehend what she was saying, and at the same time trying to stay strong for her so that she would not lose it completely.

"Ginny, don't worry! We'll find it…How—how long do we have?" Harry asked, trying to stay positive as Ginny's eyes began to fill.

"The doctors estimate…10 days." Ginny stuttered, tears falling down her face freely.

Harry gasped, tears beginning to threaten his eyes into an overload. They hadn't the faintest idea where they were going or what they were even looking for at this point. How would they be able to find whatever Ginny needs in 10 days? It seemed impossible as Harry began to think of everything that could possibly go wrong.

"No." Harry thought, not realizing that he also had said it out loud also.

He looked up at Ginny, tears still streaming down her face, and began again his voice growing stronger by each positive thought.

"Ginny, we will find the cure. You're going to be fine, please don't worry. I'll go to the worlds end and back if I have to!" Harry said confidently, as Ginny smiled through tear-streaked eyes.

"I know you will Harry." Ginny said smiling.

Harry reached up to wipe a few tears from her face, and to his surprise she pulled him in and kissed him. He had longed for soft lips for so long, and the kiss felt so good, it gave him so much hope and the confidence that he previously had lacked. Nothing would be able to stop him from saving Ginny.

He broke the kiss to look into her beautiful and loving blue eyes, despite whether or not the color pigment was really there; to tell her that he loved her more than anything else in the world and he would do anything to save her, but as he looked into her foggy eyes he found something entirely different. Harry cringed.

"Get away! Get away from me!" Ginny screamed, pushing Harry dazedly back into his chair.

"Stop, you're hurting me! Stop it! Leave me alone!" Ginny screamed; as her body began to jerk wildly in every direction and her clouded eyes rolled sickeningly into the back of her head.

Harry gazed at her in horror, not knowing what to do, or being able to move to help her. It was if he was paralyzed from the inside out. The doors burst open, doctor filing into the room as Ginny began to scream again, "Get away! Don't kill me! Stop it!"

Harry's tears began to fall freely from his eyes, as he stared back at Ginny. She looked like she was going through an immeasurable amount of pain, and it broke Harry's heart. She was writhing madly in her bed, her eyes rolling every-which-way.

Harry was still rooted in his spot, unable to move or think of anyone but Ginny.

"You! You did this to me!" Ginny screamed, pointing an accusing finger at a horrified Harry. Her eyes rolled back from her head, only to fix upon Harry; her gaze full of hate and was so icy that he thought the room had just dropped twenty degree's.

He stared at Ginny's finger, her voice ringing clearly throughout his mind as several doctors dragged him numbly out of the chaotic room.


End file.
